Safety razor



Sept. l5, 193i. R. E. THOMPSON 1,823,808

SAFETY RAZOR Filed Nov. 17, 1950 gvwentoz W WWW/?.

raast sepais, 1931 PATENT?. OFFICE RALPH E. THOMPSON, OF BROOKLINE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR ^'.'IEO GILLETTE SAFETY RAZOR COMPANY, F BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF DELA- WARE SAFETY nnzoa Application led November 17, 1930. Serial No. 496,169.

This invention relates to safety razors, and relates more particularly to a safety razor blade having a permanentlyL attached guard member.

An object of the invention is to provide a razor blade with sharpened and non-sharpened areas.

Another object ofthe invention is to provide a, razor blade with an attached safety guard. f

The ordinary type of safety razor, having a blade with two edges, is provided with a rigid guard member and a rigid cap member between which the razor blade is clamped. The arrangement of the co-operating elements of the razor is such that the blade edge is given a position relative the guard member, which is believed to be the most satisfactory for shaving with the particular type blade. Any inequalities inmanufacture and varations in adjustment, however, result in the blade edges, at times, not being in their correct position, relative the guards of the razors. This results in the fact that while one blade may be equally'as sharp'as another blade, still it will not perform as satisfactorily in a razor, due to the fact that its width may vary slightly, due to manufacturing inequalities. Likewise, in clamping the holder together, one blade may fit the holder more satisfactorily than another so that the shaving edge of one blade may perform more satisfactorily than another, this regardless of the quality of the blades. y

In my Patent No. 1,579,577, issued April 6, 1926, I have described a razor blade having a safety edge, that is, a blade having sharpened and non-sharpened portions, the nonsharpened portions extending slightly beyond the sharpened portions and actingas guards for the sharpened portions. While such a blade obviates the necessity for a separate guard member in a razor, and the resulting difficulty of adjustment of the blade edge relative the separate guard member, it has been found vthat it is difficult to sharpen the sharpened portions of such a razor blade satisfactorily, this due to the fact that it was dicult to get the sharpening tools in sumened. A flexible guard of sheet metal, celluf loid, orother suitable material, has substantially the same shape as the blade, its edge having the outline of a blade edge and being slightly wider than the blade. All of Vthe portions of the guard edge are unsharpened. The guard membervis permanently attache to the blade, and when the two are assembled 65 together, the non-sharpened portions of the guardA extend slightly beyond the sharpened portions of the blade, the combination giving I a blade which, while entirely satisfactory for shaving, is `so safe that it can be drawnv over the finger without cutting it.

The invention will now be described with reference to the drawings, of which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a safety razor blade, according to this invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a flexible guard member, according to this invention;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the guard member of Fig. 2 and the blade of Fig. 1 fastened to ether;

ig. 4 is an end view of the blade and guard placed but not fastened together;

Fig. 5 is an end view of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a side view of a blade of Fig. 1

positioned on a cap member having teeth 8 the blade there shown is provided with the notched sharpened portions 10 and the recessed dull portions 11. The blade is provided with the slot 12 which serves to position the blade on a rib in the cap member of the holder and may also serve, as will be ex-J plained later, for the assembly ofa guard t0 10o the blade. The circular opening 13 is provided for receiving the threaded stud of the cap member of the holder.

The flexible guard 14, shown by Fig. 2, is similar to the blade of Fig. 1, except that it is slightly wider and there are no sharpened portions onits edge. The edge is made up of the notched portions 15 and the recesses 16, which-correspond to the sharpened notched portions 10 and the -recesses 11 of the blade. The guardis formed with the integral rib 17 which extends through the slot 12 of the blade, and which, when the blade and the guard are assembled is swedged down over the blade, as shown by Figs. 3 and 5, to permanently secure the guard of the blade.

Fig. 3 illustrates the blade and guard assembled, and` shows the position of the sharpened edges of the blade relative the dull notches on the guard.

Fig. 9 shows an assembled razor built up of the combined guard and blade and an associated cap member. The guard member may be strip steel of less expensive quality than that used for the blades, or may be strip Celluloid, or other suitable material. Of course, unless the blade is made of metal, the method of securing the guard to the blade, as shown by Figs. 3 and 4, is not employed.

Figs. 6, 7, 8 and 9 illustrate a form of cap member which is suitable for the type of blade shown by Figs. 1 and 3. This cap member 18 has provided on its longitudinal edge, which normally contacts with the edge of the blade, the toothed extensions 19, which extend into the recesses 11 of the blade, and which serve not only to position the blade on the cap member, but to prevent a continuous edge razor from being used with this type of cap member, inasmuch as the raised teeth on the cap member would hold a continuous edge blade away from the cap to give an incorrect edge exposure. An ordinaryform of cap member would, however, be satisfactory for use with the blade-guard combination of this invention.

Referring now to Fig. 9 of the drawings, the cap member 20, the blade 21, and the flexible guard 14 are shown assembled, the assembly being accomplished by screwing the handle 22 as is ordinarily done on a threaded stud 23 (such as shown by Fio. 6), of the .cap member 20. Obviously, the lexible guard member 14 could have its edges sprung A slightly away from the edges of the blade to give the latter more edge exposure'. when that is desired. The teeth of the guard member can also be so shaped that pressure against the face will displace them from the edge of the blade and give edge exposure during the shaving operation, which will be automatically removed when the blade is not in use.

A By having a guard member permanently attached to the razor blade, the edges of the guard can be so positioned with respect to the edges of the blade that an incorrect blade exposure never occurs. The blade is always arranged to give the most satisfactory shaving results. Another advantage is that vthe shaving edge is not obscure so that the user has a better view. A safety blade eliminates the necessity for a separate guard so that the razor may be more easily cleaned. The blade cannot be resharpened, for obvious reasons,

and it is safe to throw away.

In using the blade above described, the spaced arrangement of the dull portions enables the cutting portions to reach the beard the sharp portions from entering the skin of the user, when the blade edge is presented to the skin at any anglepat which the skin could be cut, while permitting them to reach the beard in the act of shaving. It has been found that in spite of the presence of the dull portions, a. clean and comfortable shave can be obtained by using a blade of this charac ter, it being necessary merely to repeat the strokes of the razor a few times, as is customarily'done by most persons in shaving with the ordinary type razor blade.

Whereas one embodiment of the invention has been described for the purpose of illustration, it should be understood that the invention is not limited tothe exact details described, as many departures may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A safety razor comprising, in combination, a safety razor blade having a shaving edge consisting of protruding sharpened portions and recessed dull portions, and a flexible guard attached to said blade, said guard membenbeing wider than said blade and having ortions extending beyond and between the s arpened portions of said blade.

2. A safety razor comprising, in combination, a safety razor blade having a shaving edge broken up into protruding sharpened portions and recessed dull portions, and a cap member having extensions extending through the recessed portions of said blade.

Signed at Boston, Massachusetts, this 15th day of November, 1930.

RALPH. E. THOMPSON. 

